Since the early 1400’s, Racism has always been a systemic issue created for people of color to be on the receiving end of discrimination, directly inserted into every systemic institution to purposefully benefit white people, primarily white men. As time has progressed, overt racism had gone away but subtle and systemic racism still currently lingers within our daily lives and institutions, affecting our school systems and even our workplace. Subtle racism has directly affected people of color, where it had been reported that black people within the workplace have missed out on lifechanging opportunities that may advance their careers, forced to swallow their pride and personal opinions and suffer silently through their mental trauma in fear that their position may be at risk. By researching and analyzing the data provided, solutions and contributions can be made to combat the treatment of all people of color within the workplace. By also examining the mistreatment of people of color within the workplace, my contribution would allow members in the workplace to voice their opinions and recommendations without fear of termination. They would finally be able to be seen and heard without being overlooked on the basis of their skin color. 

    In the workplace, black people have been forced to swallow their pride and personal thoughts for the sake of fitting in at work and to avoid being outcasted by their coworkers. According to Battlegrounds: Highly Skilled Black African Professionals on Racial Microaggressions at Work by Dr. Kathomi Gatwiri, many black and African American workers took the time to share their stories of their firsthand encounter with workplace racism and how it has impacted them. Dr. Mukisa, an anonymous medical doctor said, “The issue was at work patients were refusing to see me because I am Black […]. It was a long time just adjusting, so I had to prove myself to be the kind of doctor I am […] It took about 12-18 months to really prove that I had the skill that was equivalent with my colleagues or better than my (white) colleagues so it takes that long. I always say if you are an African, you need to do things ten times better than the locals.”  (Gatwiri, 2021.) When you are Black in America’s workplace, it is customed and essentially secondhand nature to code-switch and downplay racism aimed towards you in order to keep your job. In the case with Dr. Mukisa, due to the racism he was forced to encounter a work, he was subjected to work twice as hard to obtain half of the acceptance that his white counterparts received. As a black medical doctor, he not only had to be focused on treating his patients, but also concerned about how his colleagues viewed him and his work ethic, forcing him to prove himself constantly to show that he is committed and qualified for his job. He was forced to swallow his pride and continue to overachieve at his job in fear of losing it and not being viewed as valuable. This mindset is quite common for black people in the workplace where they are forced to overachieve at their job to even be slightly seen for the work that they do. This mindset is also passed down to their children, pushing them to excel in school and strive for more than just finishing high school. Without overachieving in everything that you do as a black person, you’re only viewed as your skin tone and simply unqualified.  

     Due to racism existing in the workplace, it often causes black people to suffer silently through mental trauma. McCluney et al. (2016) studied the effects of structural racism within the workplace and how it impacts health compared to their white counterparts. It was self-reported that 53.2% of black people felt that they received more unfair tasks compared to their white colleagues. 4.2 % of black people also reported that they have been watched closely while conducting their assignments and 21.7% have reported that they felt unfairly humiliated at work. This coincides with mental traumas due to it being a contributing factor that constantly causes black people to worry and lose track of their jobs. Being watched closely and treated differently can make it seem as if you’re incompetent and failing at your job, leading to an increase of self-doubt and anxiety for black people in the workplace. These numbers are much higher compared to white people due to the stigma attached to black people. The stigma of black people not being smart enough to comprehend such information or that they’re lazy or unqualified to do such job creates a toxic and overwhelming environment for black people in the workplace, making it simply impossible to complete their job. These stereotypes have been portrayed and normalized to completely undermine and underappreciate black people for the work and effort that they contributed. The continuation of people of color being ignored and mistreated within the workplace will cause higher rates of anxiety, worry, stress, and self-doubt, leading to higher rates of unemployment due to stressful work environments and overwhelming workloads in not only the black community but also other communities of color. 

    Racism within the workplace has caused black people to miss out on progressing further within their careers and has harbored them from growing as an individual. According to, General Experiences +Race + Racism= Work Lives of Black faculty in Post-Secondary Science Education (Carlton et al., 2016) Dan, a black associate professor who works at a research center said, “No I am not at my fullest potential in the academy… we are understaffed. And… it wouldn’t be an exaggeration for me to say I am now essentially doing two people’s jobs… Basically… that leaves me less time to develop myself professionally.” Dan, a tenured associate professor who aims to publish a book and simply grow as a writer while still continuing to grow as an educator based in the sciences. Although Dan has accomplished his goal as being a professor at a high-end institution, he still wishes to pursue other hobbies besides teaching. Due to the increase in Dan’s workload, he had pushed his dreams aside, stopping him from growing his career outside of being an educator and his work life. This is a biproduct of racism within the workplace by being expected to work twice as hard as they can to prove themselves and their loyalty to their position while simultaneously being expected to take on more work that is simply not within their job description as being seen as a “team player”. The sad reality of this is that if they were to refuse such work and put themselves first then their workplace would interpret such as defiance and are unable to have appreciation for their job if their coworkers. They must ignore their dreams and personal goals to devote 100% of their time and energy to their job and their position within the American workforce. The idea that all people of color should be able to separate their work and personal lives for the sole reason that work is not their life is essentially a myth within the system, forcing many to continue work at home that they should have completed at work, seeping outside their designates work hours. Having a healthy balance between work and personal life is hard and almost impossible for black people due to the simple fear of losing their job, falling behind of projects and the feeling of incompetence due to putting ones needs first. 

    However, some may argue that black and white people are equal within the workplace, and that racism is just an excuse for why black people feel as though they are in an unhealthy work environment. Devah Pager’s The Sociology of Discrimination: Racial Discrimination in Employment, Housing, Credit and Consumer Markets discusses the effects of present-day discrimination within the workforce and how subtle but still present racism creates a large impact on how black people curate wealth in America. In the text it states, “Indeed, the majority of white Americans believe that a black person today has the same chance at getting a job as an equally qualified white person, and only a third believe that discrimination is an important explanation for why blacks do worse than whites in income, housing, and jobs.” (Pager & Shepard, 2008). This quote argues that racism is simply an excuse as to why black people aren’t doing their jobs effectively, believing that if black people were to take school seriously and place the energy towards their careers, they wouldn’t face any discrimination within the workplace. Some may argue that racism had ended long with the Jim Crow era, and that within today’s modern society, black people are offered the same number of opportunities to grow and advance themselves compared to their white counterparts, but that is simply not the case. Kimberele Crenshaw’s The Urgency of Intersectionality mentions the conversation about intersectionality within the workplace and how black women are a prime target to such discrimination. In the discussion, Crenshaw talks about Emma DeGraffenreid’s story, which was about how she was looking to work at a company where she felt discriminated against as a black woman. She took the case to court where the judge essentially told her that she was not being discriminated against because the company hires black men and white woman. (5:19-7:01). Within corporate America, there are often loopholes and shortcuts taken to avoid not just hiring Black people but more specifically Black Women. This combats the argument of racism being used as an excuse because Black women are continuously being excluded from job opportunities. They are excluded due to the idea that they are seen as too opinionated and vocal, excluded because they are not seen as beautiful and desired, and for many other reasons. This is also shown by how much Black women who are in such fields are key due to their intersectional identity. A shortage of Black Female lawyers, doctors and business owners’ justifiably shows that there is not only discrimination within the workplace, but throughout all systems created in America’s institutions.  If Black women and men were to be included more, then workplace discrimination could be reduced and eventually disappear. 

      In conclusion, Black people are mistreated, hindered to grow as an individual alone and within their career and are often left out due to racism within the workplace, causing trauma mentally and overall stress. Despite racism not being as blunt as it was in the past, it’s lingering effects till has the same amount of impact as it did in the past. Subliminal racism in the workplace is something that should not be ignored but rather highlighted so that a change could be made. To combat this issue corporations, need to change their hiring representatives and managers so that we can see more people of color who are qualified being praised and appreciated. There can also be new regulations in place and a person of color representative that speaks up for people of color who are afraid of their bosses but have an issue with their working conditions. It is true that nothing can be completely erased overnight but as long as an effort is made it can eventually go away and give better working conditions to not just black people but all people of color.